#20 “Just turn it off and turn it on again”

Three steps to press your body’s reset button.

Wouldn’t it be something if you could “turn off” and turn back again, resetting all your settings, clearing all your memory and becoming ready for whatever tasks that you’re exposed to on a daily basis. What a great idea, unfortunately that’s not going to happen. Here are three steps you need to take to reset your body and mind and start on the newest freshest page of your life book.

  1. Sleep. The best and only real medicine is when you allow yourself to recover deeply and fully with sleep. After a period of intensive work, whether it being a long string of late shifts or a week of extra difficult workouts the chemicals in your body and mind will be exceptionally damaged, you can overcome this with sleep, and enough of it in the right conditions, we know all the factors that affect sleep so don’t be stupid and curse your sleep by drinking and sleeping longer, it wont help you in fact it will put you farther behind your goals.
  2. Exercise. Strong mind, strong body, ah the old adage rings true today. The physiological benefits to being fit contribute to general health and ensure that all circulatory systems are in check (and lymphatic and cardiovascular blah). Think of rinsing a straw before you use it, the longer you go between washes the more junk you might find in that straw, naturally accumulating.
  3. Exhaustion. It might be controversial to think that you need to exhaust yourself, but you do, your bodies love being in a steady state (homeostasis) so your body will have no issues, in fact it wants you, to become a couch-bound television, video game, etc. addict, it is predictable, your body does not have to react to things that trigger flight or fight and you are in a very comfortable position for a long time. Exhaust yourself with work, or study or exercise somewhat regularly, allow yourself to fall on the other side of exhaustion, but always remember to hit the reset, with sleep and exercise.

Your Canadian Brother.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke